Palm Pre: Possibly as low as $149?
Now that everyone has seen Palm’s new phone, the Pre, and wants one, the biggest question is pricing. Initially, it seemed that Palm planned to charge more than the $199 (and $299) that AT&T and Apple charge for the iPhone, since Palm’s chief executive Ed Colligan indicated it was a better device that could command a higher price tag. This was seemingly confirmed by a report a few days ago that the Pre may be $399 on Sprint’s network. But those numbers have since been clarified a bit further.
Palm is still finalizing pricing for the Pre, but is tentatively set on either $399 or $499 without a contract, says Mobile-review (Unwired View breaks it down in English). With a contract, those numbers are expected to fall to either $149 or $199 — which would put it at or below the iPhone in the United States (which requires a two-year contract with AT&T).
The report also suggests that Palm may be limited to an initial production run of 200,000 units due to a shortage of displays, but that the bulk will be ready for 2009’s holiday shopping season.
I still have yet to play with a Pre, but if it’s as slick as it looks in the videos, $149 may be a killer deal for the device.
Next Story: Roundup: Balderton’s new fund, Google’s “environmental impact” and more
Previous Story: Google launches experimental search tool for Macs
About the Author, MG Siegler
MG Siegler writes about technology trends and new media for VentureBeat, with a focus on mobile topics, social elements and key news stories. Before that, MG wrote about technology on his blog, ParisLemon. Originally from Ohio, MG attended the University of Michigan where he studied film. He's previously lived in Los Angeles where he worked in Hollywood and in San Diego where he did web development. He now lives in San Francisco.